Jefferson Parish Councilman Paul Johnston responded angrily Thursday
evening to West Jefferson Medical Center Chairman Harry "Chip" Cahill's criticism of
the council's latest delay of a vote on leasing of the parish's two public hospitals.
Johnston, in an email to the hospital's administration, said
he is "appalled to learn that you want the council's decision to be quick
rather than correct."

"If you are implying that you would rather your council members make
an uninformed but quick decision, then perhaps you should not be on this
hospital's Board of Directors," Johnston wrote.

The council initially planned to select a lessee last last summer, but the process broke down when Cahill's board and the East Jefferson General Hospital failed to come to an agreement. Cahill and the West Jefferson board want the council would award the lease of both hospitals to Louisiana Children's Medical Center, which can count three confirmed supporters on the seven-member council: Elton Lagasse, Chris Roberts and Ricky Templet. The East Jefferson board wants to lease to Hospital Corp. of America.

No council members have said they support HCA. But Johnston has joined council members Cynthia Lee-Sheng and Ben Zahn in calling for the hospitals to lease to their preferred operators, a split.

Councilman Mark Spears Jr. has not stated his preference. At his request, the council voted 4-3 Wednesday to defer the lease decision to March 19, but it appears a vote isn't likely until mid-summer because those seeking the delay want an independent audit of the proposals under consideration. Procuring that contract is expected to take three months.

Earlier Thursday, Cahill said in a statement that further delays in
the hospital vote "exacerbate our challenges and inhibit our ability to grow."

The idea of leasing the hospitals to separate operators was put forth in October by consultant Kaufman Hall
& Associates Inc., which received $1.3 million to help guide the lease
process over 18 months. But the firm came under fire from partisans on both sides, who said it was either unreliable in its recommendations or susceptible to
political pressure.

Kaufman Hall responded that the two hospital boards
had failed to establish weighted criteria to make a selection. It said splitting the
hospitals is not "optimal" but is the only way to ensure a successful takeover, given the
entrenched differences between the boards.

Zahn, who has fiercely criticized the firm and accused it of wasting
public money, has recently pointed to the firm's final recommendation to
support his current position to split the hospitals. Johnston did the same in his response to Cahill at West Jefferson.

"It seems from afar that because you and other members of the board
do not like the decision by the health care analyst, that you would like to
ignore the findings," Johnston wrote. "That is financially irresponsible and
ethically incorrigible."